Category Archives: 1999 Project

1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 83-86

Click here for an intro/manifesto on The 1999 Project.

Thumbnail image for youppi.jpgJuly 5, 1999: Mets 2, Expos 1

After a grueling, frustrating, and occasionally humiliating series against the Braves, the Mets were pleased to welcome the Expos to Shea for a four-game series. Granted, Montreal had given them fits the year before, and the Mets had only gone 4-3 against them thus far. Still, the Expos were–to put it charitably–not quite as talented as Atlanta.

Although the Mets must have thought they were facing the Braves yet again in game one. They managed eight hits against Montreal starter Dustin Hermanson, but could only score one unearned run, thanks to an error by Orlando Cabrera. Rick Reed pitched seven great innings of his own, allowing just one run, but could not get a win thanks to his teammates anemic offense (perhaps due in part to temperatures that peaked at 101 degrees).

Turk Wendell got into some trouble in the top of the eighth, when a single, an error, and a balk put runners on second and third and brought up Vladimir Guerrero in a prime RBI spot. But Wendell induced a pop up from Vlad to end the inning. He also got in trouble with the umpires for having too much resin on his fielding arm (perhaps a byproduct of his volatile mound rituals). It was not the first time that season he’d been asked to make a sartorial switch mid-appearance.

That allowed the Mets a chance to plate the go-ahead run in the bottom half. John Olerud led off with a single against future Met Guillermo Mota, then Mike Piazza doubled to move him to third. Robin Ventura was walked intentionally to load the bases to bring up Brian McRae. He hit into a 4-6-3 double play, but that allowed Olerud to score.

That’s what passed for a rally in this game, but it was enough. Armando Benitez worked around a lead-off walk to preserve the victory. 

July 6, 1999: Mets 10, Expos 0

Masato Yoshii was nursing a bruised thigh, so Bobby Valentine asked the 40-year-old Orel Hershiser to pitch on one day’s rest. That would allow him to push up Yoshii’s next start and pitch Al Leiter against the Yankees in the upcoming Shea portion of the Subway Series. It would also prevent rookie Octavio Dotel from having to pitch against the Yanks (though the Mets insisted that was not a factor).

No Mets hurler had pitched on such short rest since 1982, and Hershiser had never done it in his career (though he’d memorably pitched on even shorter rest, closing out the Dodgers’ series-changing Game 4 victory against the Mets in the 1988 NLCS after starting the day before). Not to mention to the weather conditions–temperatures reached triple digits yet again.

Regardless, Hershiser accepted the challenge and shut down the Expos for five innings, limiting them to three hits. His moxie inspired cheers of “1, 2, 3, Bulldog!” from spectators behind home plate. (“Try to do it when I’m not trying to concentrate, please,” Hershiser sarcastically advised the fans after the game.)

Hershiser felt he could have gone another inning, but the risk didn’t seem worth it. By that point, the Mets had already touched up Expos starter Carl Pavano for five runs, including a two-run homer from Brian McRae and two RBIs from Edgardo Alfonzo. They’d chase Pavano from the game with two more runs in the sixth inning and score three more off of the Montreal bullpen.

Fresh from his second tour in Norfolk, Jason Isringhausen pitched the last three innings, allowing only three hits. Despite the lopsided score, it counted for his first major league save.

This was also the day of All Star Game selections, and Mike Piazza was the only Met chosen by fan balloting. Rey Ordonez–having another fine year with the glove and a surprisingly productive year with the bat–was just edged out by the Reds’ Barry Larkin for the shortstop position.

July 7, 1999: Expos 3, Mets 1

The third game looked like a repeat of the first, but unfortunately for the Mets, it did not result in a similar outcome. They stranded ten men on base and could only manage one run against Expos starter Dan Smith and the Montreal bullpen. In his best outing yet, Octavio Dotel limited the opposition to one run in seven innings. But Bobby Valentine batted for him in the bottom of the seventh in a vain attempt to spark a rally and was forced to turn to the bullpen.

Robin Ventura was hit by a pitch in his left foot in the bottom of the third and had to leave the game, so Luis Lopez was manning third base in the top of the eighth. Terry Jones singled to lead off the inning. After a sac bunt moved Jones up, Lopez fielded a grounder, but his throw whizzed past John Olerud, allowing Jones to score all the way from second.

The Mets threatened in their half. After singles by Roger Cedeno and McRae, Valentine pinch hit for Todd Pratt with Mike Piazza (who’d been given the day off). The Expos brought in their closer, Ugueth Urbina, and he promptly struck out Piazza on three pitches. Ordonez followed with a fly out to end the threat.

Montreal plated another run in the top of the ninth, and the Mets went quietly in their half. Despite wasted scoring opportunities, Lopez took all the blame after the game, with the use of some Rickey Henderson-esque grammar. “Everyone played their asses off,” he said. “Dotel pitched great. This time, Luis Lopez failed.”

July 8, 1999: Expos 4, Mets 3

Masato Yoshii seemed to benefit from the extra rest afforded him by Orel Hershiser’s spot start. After a slightly shaky, one-run first inning, he settled in, retiring 13 straight Expos at one point. The mets scored two runs in the first, then another on a Piazza solo shot in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.

Montreal chipped at their lead thanks to a Vladimir Guerrero home run, the kind only he could hit (according to the Daily News, it came on “an eye-high fastball”). They tied it on another solo homer in the seventh, this one from Orlando Cabrera off of Turk Wendell. Dennis Cook come on in the eighth inning and gave up a one-out triple to Wilton Guerrero (Vlad’s brother). The next batter, Shane Andrews, hit a fly to McRae in center field (“little more than a popup”, in the Daily News‘ estimation) that allowed Guerrero to tag up and score.

The Mets had slight chances in their last two innings. Matt Franco hit a one-out single in the eighth, but was erased when Benny Agbayani hit into a double play. In the ninth, Rickey Henderson worked a walk against Urbina but was caught trying to stea
l second.

“We [the bullpen] are human,” Cook said later. “We’re going to throw a bad
streak in there. It’s one of those things. I’m not going to go home and
slit my wrists.”

Still, it was not the best way to lead into the Subway Series. Somewhat prophetically, the News opined:

The Mets are still the No. 2 team in this town, and it would be nice to
make a statement against the vaunted Bronx Bombers. Win three, even
two, against the Yankees and these Expos debacles surely will be
forgiven and forgotten.

1999 Project

1999 Project: Atlanta, Round Two

Click here for an intro/manifesto on The 1999 Project.

July 2, 1999: Braves 16, Mets 0

The Mets welcomed the Braves to Shea for the first time in 1999, and the Braves found it very welcoming indeed. Chipper Jones (who else) commenced the scoring with a two-run shot in the first, and it was all downhill from there. Masato Yoshii was torched for eight runs in only three innings–and the Braves had scored only half their runs yet.

The Braves might have been helped (at least at first) by their dugout monitors, which showed them the game feed instead of the bullpen, thus giving them a bird’s eye view of Mike Piazza’s pitch calling. They were quick to point out this error–after the top of the first.

No such help was needed on the mound. Greg Maddux continued his mastery over the Mets, allowing just two hits in six innings of work. The famously economical Maddux presumably felt no need to tax himself beyond that point, considering he had a 12-run lead. After a shaky (for him) start to his season, Maddux proved once again that he had lost nothing–and would continue to be a thorn in the Mets’ side.

The Braves piled on with two runs in the fourth inning, and a run each in the fifth and sixth. They added both insult and injury in the ninth, when John Franco came on to pitch. The Mets’ closer hadn’t pitched in several days, so despite the score, he was due for some work. After allowing a run, then back-to-back walks, Franco stalked off the mound with pain in his left hand that would later be diagnosed as a strained tendon.

mattfranco_pitch.pngHaving burned through all of his bullpen already, and short one position player (Edgardo Alfonzo was away from the team, attending the birth of his son), Bobby Valentine was forced to be creative. He used starter Rick Reed in right field, who took the spot of Roger Cedeno, who moved to second to take the place of Luis Lopez, who moved to third to take the place of Matt Franco, who took to the mound to try and get the final out of the ninth.

Matt became only the second position player to pitch for the Mets (the first was the immortal Bill Pecota in 1992). Gerald Williams turned on the third pitch Franco threw and launched it for a three-run homer. But he also managed to stop the bleeding by striking out Andruw Jones. “I think the disappointment of the night had gone past by then,” Franco told reporters later. “It was fun. The 16-0 loss wasn’t worth it.”

That margin of defeat represented the most lopsided shutout in Mets history. And just to add a little bit of strife to an already bad situation, Bobby Bonilla challenged a fan to a fight after he was booed for dropping a pop-up.

July 3, 1999: Braves 3, Mets 0

On a muggy night, Al Leiter limited the Braves to three runs, but his teammates continued to be baffled by Atlanta pitching. This time, the culprit was Kevin Millwood, who no-hit the Mets for four innings and gave up only three hits total.

Brian Jordan–who said he’d make New York regret not signing him in the off season–started the scoring in the top of the fifth with a two-run homer (on what Jordan called “the straightest fastball I’ve ever seen Leiter throw”). The Braves scratched out another run in the sixth to give themselves a 3-0 lead. The way the Mets were hitting, it might as well have been 300-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Robin Ventura led off with a single to break up Millwood’s bid for a no-no. Just so the Mets wouldn’t get any ideas about turning their luck around, Benny Agbayani followed with a strike out while Ventura was picked off of first. It was as close to a rally as they would come against Millwood.

The Atlanta starter tried to go the distance, but he walked Brian McRae to start the ninth, prompting Bobby Cox to turn to his closer, John Rocker. The hard-throwing lefty looked almost human when he threw a wild pitch and gave up a single to pinch hitter Todd Pratt, putting runners at the corners with nobody out.

But Rocker induced harmless fly outs from Edgardo Alfonzo and John Olerud. The Mets were down to their last out, but they also had Mike Piazza coming to the plate as the tying run. Alas, there were no heroics in his bat this time–he struck out to end the game.

Going back to the series in Atlanta, the Mets hadn’t scored a run against Braves pitching in 28 innings. Millwood, the latest architect of their futility, summed up the feeling of the budding rivalry. “”We said when we started to play these guys to keep them down and don’t let them get their confidence up,” he told reporters after the game. “So far, we’ve done a pretty good job.”

To make matters worse, the Mets were forced to put John Franco on the DL with what they termed a strained flexor tendon in his left middle finger. Rigo Beltran was called up from Norfolk to take his place on the roster. Bobby Valentine anticipated handing the closer’s job to Armando Benitez. He’d filled that role for the Orioles, but he’d also been traded from Baltimore for his propensity to blow up in big moments.

July 4, 1999: Mets 7, Braves 6

The Daily News‘ Vic Ziegel opened his story thusly, in one of the weirder lead paragraphs I’ve ever read:

Somebody else will have to explain how the Mets won this game. The
rumor making the rounds before Mets 7, Atlanta 6 last night was that
the Mets need only one look at the tomahawk shirts to turn to jelly.
Last year’s jelly, hidden in the back of the fridge. What is that
smell?

This game marked the Mets’ last chance to do direct damage to the Braves for quite some time–the two teams wouldn’t meet again until September 21. That damage would have to be done against the always tough John Smoltz, although the righty was rumored to be dealing with some elbow issues.

Orel Hershiser started for the Mets and immediately put the Mets in a hole by giving up back-to-back solo shots to Bret Boone and Chipper Jones. But they touched up Smoltz for three runs on three hits in their half of the first.

Not only had the Mets finally scored against the Braves, but they even padded their lead on an Alfonzo RBI double in the second inning. It would not last for long. In the top of the third, another solo homer from Boone, a sac fly from Ryan Klesko, and a two-run shot by Randall Simon scored four runs, chased Hershiser from the game, and put Atlanta back in front, 6-4.

Pat Mahomes and Rigo Beltran helped restore order and prevent the Braves from scoring any more runs. Greg McMichael pitched the top of the seventh and got into a bases loaded jam, but Dennis Cook came on to get the last out and keep Atlanta off the board. As good as their relief efforts were, it all seemed pointless, as the Mets could not dent Smoltz any further. They were retired with little incident in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings.

Then in the bottom of the seventh, Rey Ordonez hit a lead off single and Brian McRae followed with a walk. Rickey Henderson bunted them into scoring position, but that proved unnecessary, because Alfonzo crushed a Smoltz fastball to straight-away center to give the Mets a 7-6 lead.

Cook stayed on to set down the Braves in order in the eighth. Then Armando Benitez came on in the ninth for his first appearance as the Mets’ interim closer. He rose to the occasion by striking out the side, which consisted of three batters who’d given the Mets fits over the last three games: Boone, Chipper, and Jordan.

After the game, Bobby Valentine simply said, “It was a test if there’s ever been test.”

1999 Project

1999 Project: Games 76-79

Click here for an intro/manifesto on The 1999 Project.

June 28, 1999: Mets 10, Marlins 4

Robin Ventura shined in the opener of a four-game series in Miami, clubbing two homers, driving in six runs, and leading the Mets to a rout over the Marlins. The third baseman was praised by the Daily News for removing himself late in the game so Matt Franco could get an at-bat against Braden Looper, a reliever he’d likely face in a much closer game somewhere down the road. It was a good rebound after the series in Atlanta, when Ventura struck out an astounding seven times in only 12 at-bats.

Al Leiter struggled a bit in the third inning, giving up two runs, each scoring on two-out RBI singles. But he rebounded to pitch into the seventh inning and reap the benefits of another offensive outburst.

Back in New York, Mets owner Fred Wilpon said he was “hopeful” the team could secure city permission and financing to begin construction on a new ballpark. The desired opening date: 2003. Wilpon’s vision was for “a 45,000-seat, Ebbets Field replica with a retractable roof that would allow the facility to be used ‘365 days a year,’ except for football. He still is committed to the current site at Shea.”

The same article cites the Mets’ desire to trade for a “front-line starter”. The Angels’ Chuck Finley was discussed, but the Marlins’ Livan Hernandez seemed a long shot, since, according to the article, “the Mets don’t consider Hernandez a front-line starter”.

June 29, 1999: Mets 5, Marlins 1

Orel Hershiser left the mound to a standing ovation, a reaction he attributed to large numbers of “the 40-and-over crowd” in Florida.

It was not a very big standing ovation–the paid attendance, only a little over 11,000, was the third lowest in Marlins’ history to date. Regardless of size, it was a tribute to Hershiser’s finest outing as a Met, where he went 8 1/3 innings, giving up just five hits and one run. He kept the ball on the ground, which led to an astounding 11 assists for shortstop Rey Ordonez (only three shy of the all-time single-game record).

Ventura continued his hot hitting. His two-run single in the third inning gave the Mets the lead to stay. Edgardo Alfonzo padded that lead with a two-run homer in the seventh.

On the negative side, Bobby Jones experienced discomfort in his balky right shoulder and was scratched for a scheduled BP session. The news furthered GM Steve Phillips’ search for another starter; he was rumored to be pursuing Toronto’s David Wells, though the length and size of his contract was a stumbling block (not to mention the size of Wells himself).

June 30, 1999: Marlins 4, Mets 3 (10)

Kevin Millar did all the damage against starter Rick Reed. His two-run homer in the second put the Marlins on top, and after the Mets rallied to tie in top of the sixth, Millar’s RBI single in the bottom half put the Marlins back in front and chased Reed from the game.

The Mets tied it up again in the seventh, thanks to Rickey Henderson behaving in typical Rickey-esque fashion: he worked a two-out walk, stole second, and scored on an Alfonzo single.

They had an opportunity to go ahead in the ninth, when Roger Cedeno walked. Closer Matt Mantei tried to pick Cedeno off second, but threw the ball away. That allowed Cedeno to easily move to second–so easily, in fact, that third base coach Cookie Rojas gave him the green light to advance to third. Luis Castillo fired the ball to Mike Lowell, who tagged out Cedeno and ended the threat.

“When the play developed, there were very few people that thought he wouldn’t be safe at third,” Bobby Valentine told reporters after the game. “I think we were a little more surprised than disappointed.”

Mike Piazza made a bid in the top of the tenth, giving a ride to a fastball from Antonio Alfonseca. But in cavernous Pro Player Stadium (as it was then called), it died before the warning track and settled in Mark Kotsay’s glove for a flyout.

Armando Benitez set down the Marlins in order in the ninth, and came out for the tenth as well. He retired the first two batters with ease, but fell behind Kotsay 3-1 before delivering a fastball that Kotsay deposited into the right field stands for a walk-off home run. It was the first hit any Marlin had gotten off of Benitez all year. The loss prevented the Mets from gaining ground on the Braves, whose bullpen had a late-inning meltdown of its own.

Benitez declared himself unshaken after the game, in words that sound bitterly ironic with the remove of time: “It’s nothing. It’s one game. We have a chance to win tomorrow. We have a chance to win against Atlanta. We’re going to win [against] Atlanta no matter what. You give me the ball, I’ll do the best I can. I won’t surrender. I like competition.” The reliever, who already had the rep of being moody and immature, was amazingly praised in some circles for his willingness to put the incident behind him.

July 1, 1999: Mets 12, Marlins 8

The Mets exploded for six runs off of Marlins starter Ryan Dempster in the third inning, with all of the offense coming with two outs. Octavio Dotel made his second big league start, and he chipped in with an RBI of his own when he worked a bases loaded walk that scored the fourth run of the inning and chased Dempster from the game.

They didn’t stop there, scoring two runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings as well. With Piazza resting, Todd Pratt was given a start and knocked in three runs. Henderson and Ordonez each had two RBIs.

Dotel did much better than in his previous start, at least for the first three innings. (Perhaps because the paid attendance was the third-lowest in team history, supplanting the record set just two days previous.) But he gave up two runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth. Some of his sudden ineffectiveness was chalked up to the threat of rain; Dotel later said he might have rushed his pitches because he didn’t want weather to wash out his chance for his first big league win before the fifth inning was complete.

Or it might have been the fact that Marlins pitcher Brian Edmonson hurled a pitch near his head in the top of the fifth, after the game had gotten away from the Marlins. Dotel told reporters he never saw the pitch, but was lucky enough to spin out of the way and have it only graze the back of his batting helmet. “It’s hard to say it didn’t affect him,” Bobby Valentine said later.

Whatever the cause, Valentine swapped Dotel for long man Pat Mahomes in the sixth, who held the fort for three innings. Greg McMichael pitched the ninth and allowed three runs to score, but they were of little consequence.

Next up: The Braves again, this time at Shea. The Mets remained a mere three games back, with the chance to make up some ground.